When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

But had Keane taken the trouble to ask someone if it was a good idea to hit a fellow ex-Ireland international and football pro with a barrage of insensitive abuse at a roadshow in Dublin while he is attempting to get another job, any public relations expert worth his salt would have told him to keep his opinions to himself.

Jon Walters and Keane had a public falling out (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

The bad blood between Keane and Walters runs deep.

The pair first fell out during their time together at Ipswich.

And while the hatchet was buried for a brief but fruitful spell with the Republic of Ireland, that was until details of a training-ground ruck between them emerged on social media.

Read More

Related Articles

He hated the fact private events had been made public and, having simmered like a volcano for months, decided this week was the time to erupt.

Keane said: “He talks a good game. Imagine if he’d won a trophy. He goes on the TV about how he was harshly treated by me. He’s crying on the TV about his family situation. Maybe he should lie low for a while.

“Have a look at his medals? That wouldn’t take long. We got beaten by Wales. Jon played. Jon didn’t have a good game.

“Brian Clough punched me one time. He was upset. It was heated. He punched me. I remember thinking, ‘You’re still a brilliant manager’. I came in the next day and trained. I didn’t text somebody in the media. Or go on Ratsapp.”

Roy Keane has been underwhelming in his managerial career to date (Image: Getty Images)

For the record, Walters’ daughter is ill and he’s also had to deal with the death of his brother.

Keane, of all people, should be able to relate to this considering his own dad, Maurice, died last month in Heather Care Home of Cork’s Orthopaedic Hospital, having suffered a stroke last November.

Picking on people appeals to Keane’s warped nature.

He makes the world a more interesting place, but not always for the right reasons.

The problem of failing to engage the brain before speaking is not an uncommon one in football.

Granted, Keane, who also took a swipe at Sir Alex Ferguson just for good measure, seems to have mastered the art. But he’s not alone.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in8Cancel

Play now

Yet Keane doesn’t appear to have the wit to fathom out in advance that the real damage he’s done is not to Walters, but himself.

Suggesting being punched in the face by a manager is somehow acceptable is not something to boast about if you want to become a boss yourself once again.

Expressing this in a job interview would be professional suicide, while suggesting the opinion of someone like Walters isn’t valid because he hasn’t won anything is the kind of thing that a child would say.

Make no mistake, Keane was a wonderful footballer. One of the finest of his generation.